The Library’s E-resource Licensing Priorities

The Faculty Senate at the Colorado School of Mines supports the Arthur Lakes Library in negotiations with academic publishers and library vendors to reach reasonable license agreements in order to support the education and research goals of Mines. On January 9, 2024, the Faculty Senate motioned to endorse the following statement and priorities of the Library. 

Through negotiated agreements, the Library upholds its Mission, Vision, and Values including access to information, stewardship, collaboration, and intellectual freedom, along with supporting diversity and inclusion and creating a culture of life-long learning.  

While this statement is presented during the current negotiations with Elsevier through the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, the Faculty Senate supports the Library, regardless of publisher or vendor, to prioritize the following: 

  • Accessibility: Provide equitable access to information for all library users and prioritize materials with optimized end-user experiences and web accessibility; 
  • Affordability: Negotiate fair and sustainable prices for resources and services based on transparent, cost-based pricing models; 
  • Preservation: Ensure long-term digital preservation and accessibility of content with trusted digital archives including the Mines Repository and third-party archives; 
  • Privacy and Security: Preserve users’ rights to privacy, ensure data security, prevent unauthorized use of user data, and keep users free from scrutiny by the government and other third parties; 
  • Publishing: Support the dissemination of information and campus research through Open Access publishing and authors retaining the rights to their works; 
  • Scholarly Sharing: Allow the ability to borrow and lend print and digital materials between libraries as well as allow authors to share their articles openly with researchers and the public; and 
  • Transparency: Eliminate license terms or practices, such as nondisclosure or confidentiality clauses, that are counter to the obligations as a state institution and taxpayer funded research. 

Contact Information: 

Danielle Ostendorf 

Head of Collection Management & E-resources Librarian
danielleostendorf@mines.edu
303-273-3540